Download 22A, Windsor Road, Chorley, Lancashire RTF 31 KB

Item B. 3
08/01189/COU
Permit Full Planning Permission
Case Officer
Caron Taylor
Ward
Chorley North West
Proposal
Retrospective application for change of use of property from
residential to mixed use residential and office (B1), for a
further 2 years.
Location
22A Windsor Road Chorley Lancashire PR7 1LN
Applicant
Mr Stephen Robinson
Proposal
The application is for the erection of B1 office units (amendment to
planning approval 08/00119/FUL).
Summary
The
Policies
GN1, EM7
Planning History
An enforcement notice against the use was authorised by
committee in October following complaints received from
neighbouring properties regarding the use of the property in
particular the parking of the employee’s vehicles along Windsor
Road. However, issuing of the notice it was put on hold pending the
outcome of a planning application. An application to continue using
the property for one year was withdrawn (08/01068/FUL), as it was
not considered a reasonable timescale for the business to move.
Background
The application property is a detached house on Windsor Road,
Chorley. Part of the property above the integral garage is currently
being used by internet based business, Xyone, which is a digital
marketing agency.
Consultations
Coal Authority
Standing Advice
LCC Highways
Recommend refusal on highway grounds due to lack of parking in
the area. Several complaints have been made regarding parking
issues on Windsor Road, Kensington Road and all other associated
streets in this area. There are also concerns regarding access to
fire engines due to parked cars on Windsor Road south of its
junction with Kensington Road.
CBC Economic Development Unit
The Economic Development Unit is in full support of this
application. As the company were hoping to move to new premises
in Matrix Park following the disappointing news that Redrow have
decided not to proceed with Phase 3 of Matrix Park they are now
being forced to find an alternative accommodation. With the present
economic climate being volatile the extension to two years would
give the company additional breathing space to further consolidate
it’s resources and find enhanced economic stability. The company
has been operating from 22a Windsor Road temporarily in order to
reduce overheads and increase profits to retain its viability. It is
obvious that having to rush into relocating at this time would cause
the company financial hardship that could lead to it’s demise and
the obvious loss of jobs.
Representations
Three letters of objection and one letter of no objection have been
received to date, however the consultation deadline has not expired
so further may be received.
The reasons for objection can be summarised as:
 Windsor Road is often used by people working in Chorley
who leave their cars and walk into town, often without
concern for residents;
 Parking on the road has been restricted in the last two years
by yellow lines introduced on Windsor Road and Kensington
Road, nonetheless the volume of cars attracted by free
parking during the week has remained the same. Staff
parking all day to work at the application property obviously
adds to parking difficulties already experienced by residents
and their visitors. Their daughter has received a parking
ticket for not being able to park legally near their home;
 The owner has provided no off road parking for their staff or
business visitors to relieve congestion in the neighbourhood
despite some limited off road space at the property;
 A number of cars are currently coming to the property on a
daily basis on weekdays. If the application were approved
the business could expand, without Council notice or
resident consultation, thus attracting more staff and further
exacerbating parking and congestion difficulties in the area;
 As a residential area children play on the street in good
weather. Increased business traffic and congestion
inevitably impacts on safety;
 This is a residential area and most people in the
neighbourhood would wish it to remain so. Ample office
accommodation with parking facilities appears to be readily
available in Chorley and the surrounding area, yet no
alternative office space has been secured by the applicant
in the years operating a business from this address. This is
the first formal application despite longstanding business
use;
 Permission for business use at this address would set an
example, increasing the likelihood of a further application for
permanent change of use at the end of the two year period
and potentially increasing the likelihood of applications for
other houses to be used as offices. Ultimately, increasing
business use of domestic properties would impact on the
character of the area and add to the congestion problems
for remaining residents;
 As Windsor Road is solely residential area, so that a
business employing a number of people in inappropriate
and would detract from the residential amenity of nearby
houses;
 The existing use of the property for a business has
constantly caused a nuisance due to employees cars being
parked on Windsor and Kensington Road, making access to
the cul0de-sac difficult;
 The closure of part of West Street car park has put further
pressure on street parking in the area;
 The use has gone on for too long already and they therefore
oppose the application even on a temporary basis;

Allowing the application would set a precedent in the area.
One letter states they have no objection to the change of use since
it does not detract from the residential nature of the building.
Applicant’s Case
The original application 08/01068/FUL for a one year extension to
the current use of the property was, in truth done in a bit of a panic
due to the impending enforcement notice. However, having had
time to think about the practicalities of the matter it is clear that the
one year timeframe is unrealistic.
Having looked at the practicalities of moving premises it has
become clear to us that even if the economy recovered tomorrow it
would be virtually impossible for us to achieve a move prior to 12
months from now.
Firstly it is critical that the company must locate to an appropriately
modern looking office building in a well respected forward looking
commercial area to create the correct impression for customers.
Once such premises have been located an acceptable
purchase/rental package need to be negotiated and the appropriate
funding secured. Clearly at the current time there are immense
difficulties in achieving sensible and affordable funding. If finding
could be secured for suitable premises they would then need to be
fitted out appropriately. Therefore it can be seen that it would be
highly unlikely that a move within 12 months could be achieved,
therefore the application was amended to two years to reflect the
reality of the situation.
The current difficult trading conditions in all business sectors
determine that the pragmatic approach to the security of
employment for the staff involved is to remain at the current
premises until more amendable trading conditions are prevalent.
The company has been based in Chorley for eight years, having
rented offices for seven years at 36 Pall Mall. At the end of the
seven years to lease was up for renewal but the directors decided
to look to purchase a commercial property rather than continuing to
rent for another five years or so. Ideal premises were located at
Matrix Park, Buckshaw Village to be built by Redrow and a price
was agreed with an expected completion date of November 2007.
Due to the lease ending on Pall Mall the business was moved
temporarily to the Directors house at 22A Windsor Road until the
new property was built and due to the nature of the business
arrangements were made for several staff to work remotely from
their homes and dial in on a daily basis to their network which
reduced the space required at Windsor Road.
Later in 2007 Redrow stated the development would not start until
February 2008 with an expected completion date of July 2008 and it
was decided to wait for the premises, as it was an ideal location for
staff being from Manchester, Preston, Leyland and Chorley.
However, it became apparent that work had not started on the new
offices and concerns started to grow that the completion was
constantly being put back. In July Redrow informed the business
that due to the current economic climate and the state of the
commercial property market they had decided not to proceed with
the third phase of the Matrix Park Development and therefore the
business is back to square one, although is still actively looking for
new premises.
With all the indications that we are heading for a recession Xyone's
priority is to safeguard all the existing jobs and tread carefully over
the next 6 to 12 months. Also because of the current commercial
mortgage market being nonexistent and the tightening up on banks
lending money to small businesses it might be difficult to get a
commercial mortgage. Due to the size of deposit that the business
needs to put down on securing properties has increased more time
is needed for the confidence of the mortgage lenders to grow in
relation to small to medium enterprises.
As a resident of Windsor Road they also have concerns about the
parking, 90% of which is from the offices based on St Thomas’s
Road. The use of the property ensures it still remains as a large
residential dwelling and none of the day to day activities would lead
to the uninitiated being aware of its mixed use.
The granting of planning permission is crucial to maintain the
current level of employment at the company, refusal would ensure
that in the worse possible point in the economic cycle that the
company would be burdened with huge extra costs. The nature of
the business use is very unobtrusive and in no way interfered with
the amenity of any of the other residents and as such they feel that
planning permission should be granted.
Assessment
The service provided is carried out by seven employees (including
the owner) within an office complex who operate from individual
computer terminals. This use cannot be considered to be ancillary
to the main use of the dwelling given the number of employees who
attend the dwelling on a daily basis. Therefore there is a mixed use
of the dwelling.
The main issue to consider is whether the development has
resulted in a loss of amenity to neighbouring properties and the
area in general. Policy EM7 covers employment development in
residential areas. This states that new small scale employment
development (including that falling within use class B1), will be
permitted in areas where housing is the principle land use provided
t here would be no detriment to the amenity of the area in terms of
noise, nuisance, disturbance, environment and car parking. It is not
considered that the use of the property has a detrimental impact on
the surrounding property in terms of noise, however there are
issues with the use in terms of carparking due to the number of
employees working at the premises as well as occasional business
callers leading to a loss of amenity for nearby residents contrary to
EM7.
The property does have some off street parking, however the
Council cannot apply a condition that forces employees to use it, as
this would not be enforceable or reasonable, as providing a vehicle
is taxed and insured it is permitted to park on the public highway.
However, it is clear that the business has made efforts to move to
proper premises, however these efforts have been prevented by
the sudden economic downturn that could not have been predicted.
The Council is therefore in the difficult position in that in the current
economic climate it wishes to support small businesses and
certainly prevent job losses, but also wishes to ensure reasonable
amenity standards are maintained for surrounding residents.
The current financial situation is unusual and on balance, a
temporary permission is seen as a reasonable short-term solution,
however the permission will be conditioned so that it is only
temporary for two-years as applied for as the scheme is not
considered acceptable on a permanent basis.
Recommendation: Permit Full Planning Permission
Conditions
1. The office use hereby permitted shall cease within two years of the date of this
permission.
Reason: The use is not considered suitable in this location on a permanent basis and in
accordance with Policy Nos. EP7 of the Adopted Chorley Borough Local Plan Review.